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The Diocese of Arundel & Brighton welcomes today’s election of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church. Responding to the news, Bishop Richard said:

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"We give thanks that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the Cardinals have elected Pope Leo XIV.

“Pope Leo brings to the office of the Holy Father considerable experience as a bishop and pastor including in Chulucanas, so closely associated with our diocese, together with his more recent service as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. His prayer for peace in his first words from the balcony at St Peter’s will resonate with Catholics and all people of good will.

“This is a significant moment for the Catholic Church and for the world, and we offer our prayers for the Holy Father as he begins his Pontificate."

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Pope Leo, the first Pope from the United States of America, was born Robert Prevost, on 14 September 1955 in Chicago, Illinois.

In 1977, he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine in the province of Our Lady of Good Counsel, in Saint Louis. On 29 August 1981 he made his solemn vows. He studied at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, receiving a diploma in theology.

At the age of 27 he was sent by the Order to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University (Angelicum). He received priestly ordination on 19 June 1982. He received his licentiate in 1984, and was then sent to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Piura, Peru (1985-1986); the Diocese of Chulucanas.

In 1987, he was awarded a doctorate with the thesis: “The role of the local prior in the Order of Saint Augustine”. In the same year he was elected director of vocations and director of the missions of the Augustinian province of “Mother of Good Counsel” of Olympia Fields, Illinois.

On 3 November 2014, Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, elevating him to the dignity of bishop and assigning him the titular diocese of Sufar. He was ordained a bishop on 12 December, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the cathedral of his diocese.  

He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the Consistory of 30 September 2023, of the Deaconry of Santa Monica.

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‍Bishop Richard will celebrate Mass for the Holy Father’s intentions at the Confirmation Mass at Arundel Cathedral this Sunday at 2pm, with additional Masses celebrated across the Diocese.

Sources: vatican.va; Vatican News